Withholding Grandchildren from Grandparents
There is no denying that grandparents have a special bond and a special relationship with their grandchildren, and this can be enriching for everyone involved. When parents choose to stop grandparents from spending time with their children, it can prove painful and disruptive for both the children and the grandparents. While parental rights are very firmly established, the law also addresses the matter of grandparents and visitation rights, and if you have concerns related to this important issue, don’t delay reaching out to an experienced Yakima divorce attorney.
What Is Grandparent Alienation?
Grandparent alienation is somewhat different than mere separation. The concept of grandparent alienation is based on the concept of parental alienation, in which children are essentially programmed by one parent to reject the other parent. Grandparent alienation involves one or more of the children’s parents turning their children against their grandparents, and it can be just as heartbreaking as it sounds. When an adult family member actively campaigns against another – in the hopes of turning vulnerable children against their loved one – it amounts to alienation, and it can be a very challenging family law issue.
Which States Have Grandparent Rights?
States vary considerably when it comes to grandparent rights. Some states are quite permissive when it comes to the issue, including Maine and Connecticut, which both allow grandparents who have preexisting relationships with their grandchildren to bring visitation claims. Some other states are more permissive on the topic because they simply do not have firm laws on the books that address grandparent visitation. Those states with the most restrictive laws related to grandparent rights include:
● Alabama
● Florida
● Georgia
● Iowa
Finally, some states have had their laws related to grandparent rights struck down by the Supreme Court, including:
● Washington
● Tennessee
● Hawaii
● California
In other words, it’s a mixed bag, and the best way to address your own legal concerns related to grandparent visitation rights is by consulting with a dedicated divorce attorney who has considerable experience guiding these often-complicated cases.
Washington State and Grandparents Rights
The Constitution protects parents’ rights to raise their own children in the way they see fit. While grandparents may want to insert themselves into this equation, the law is firmly on the side of parental rights. There are, however, certain instances in which grandparents have the legal right to obtain visitation privileges with their grandchildren (over the objections of the children’s parents). While there is no federal governance that specifically addresses grandparent visitation, there is a significant Washington case that found its way onto the Supreme Court’s docket, making it an important measurement for grandparent visitation rights in the United States.
The Supreme Court Weighs In
The case in question is Troxel v. Granville, and in it, the Court found that the State of Washington had gone too far with its stand on grandparent visitation rights. While many thought this case would seriously limit the visitation rights of grandparents overall, this hasn’t been the case. All told, Troxel has served as a reminder that Washington – and every state – needs to allow parental rights, which have been legally recognized and afforded constitutional protections for a century, the status they deserve. This, in essence, means that grandparents have the right to seek visitation, but parental rights take precedence, making the issue of grandparent rights something of a balancing act.
Parental Rights in the United States
Family Law in the United States takes a three-sided approach in which the rights of the parents, the children, and the state merge – but are never equal. Parents are afforded vast discretion when it comes to raising their children, including the freedom to make decisions about all the following:
● Their children’s schooling
● Their children’s religious upbringing
● Their children’s healthcare
● Disciplinary measures
● The dizzying array of family-related matters that arise on a daily basis
Children are hard-pressed to prevail in legal challenges against the authority of their parents. The state’s role is to act as a kind of super-parent who oversees matters when called upon to do so but whose power is strictly limited. Ultimately, the government only has the power to override a parent’s decision if it is deemed to jeopardize the well-being and/or health of the children involved. Typically, this means that the state intervenes only when the issue of child abuse and/or neglect raises its ugly head. If the children are threatened by imminent harm, the state can intervene by either removing the children entirely or by limiting the rights of the parents significantly.
Due Process
This deference that the law affords parental rights isn’t just an exercise in doing what’s right on the government’s part – it is addressed directly in the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. Ultimately, as long as the parent or parents are deemed fit to provide their children with a safe environment, the state has neither the right nor any reason to interfere with their parental rights. Barring a serious reason for determining otherwise, parents are presumed fit, and further, fit parents are presumed to base their parenting decisions on the best interests of their children. Since this is also the court’s motivation (the children’s best interests), it has little reason (or right) to intervene (barring an issue that brings the children’s health and well-being into question).
Seeking Grandparent Visitation in the State of Washington
Washington will allow a grandparent to petition for visitation rights with his or her grandchildren if one of the following applies:
● The grandchildren’s parents are divorced
● The grandchildren’s parents are separated
● The grandchildren’s parents are in the process of divorce
● A breakdown of some kind has occurred within the grandchildren’s nuclear family
When the grandparent and the grandchildren have already established a strong bond between them, grandparent visitation may be considered in the best interests of the grandchildren, which is the state’s measuring stick. All of the following factors can play a pivotal role in this determination:
● The strength of the relationship between the grandchildren and the grandparent
● The nature of either parent’s reason for objecting to grandparent visitation
● The state of the relationship between the grandparent and each of the children’s parents
● The effects on the parent-child relationship that grandparent visitation is likely to have
● The custody arrangements of the grandchildren’s parents
● Any criminal record or history of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or neglect on the part of the grandparent
● Anything else the court deems relevant to the case at hand
Every grandparent visitation case is unique to the circumstances involved, and because these cases tend to be exceptionally complicated, the best path forward is with an accomplished divorce attorney on your side.
Can a Parent Deny a Grandparent Visitation?
Because parents do have a fundamental right to parent their children autonomously, courts are required to afford this right considerable weight in every case involving a parent’s decision to deny grandparent visitation. Only if the grandparent can demonstrate that denying him or her visitation would be harmful in some way to the grandchildren in question will a Washington court order grandparent visitation in the face of a fit parent’s objection.
A Washington Case
In 2020, a grandmother and her husband (the step-grandfather) challenged the court’s ruling regarding their petition for grandparent visitation. In this case, the mother and her children moved from Las Vegas to Oregon – where her mother and stepfather lived – in 2015 and subsequently moved to Oregon. In 2016, the father filed for divorce, and the mother returned to Washington to live with her mother and stepfather. That October, the mother died by suicide. The father, who said he was focused on being transferred to an Air Force Base in Washington – where his children were in school – did not immediately take the children. In the meantime, the grandparents petitioned the court for non-parental custody and sought and received a restraining order prohibiting the father from taking the children. When the father refused to allow the children to remain with the grandparents, he was served with the restraining order and petition. While the non-parental custody case proceeded, the father became engaged and moved in with his fiancée and her children. Ultimately, the court denied the grandparents’ petition for lack of cause (though it noted the effects that the mental health concerns and alcoholism of both parents had on their marriage). Because the father was receiving treatment for these issues and had the support of both family and social services, however, the court did not find him an unfit parent – nor did it find that the children living with him would prove detrimental to them.
The Rest of the Story
In 2018, the grandparents filed a petition with the court for visitation; the petition was denied, and the grandparents appealed. Ultimately, the grandparents could not reach the court’s high standards for ruling against a fit parent’s right to say no to grandparent visitation. The primary points made by the grandparents (as countered by the court) include:
● The grandparents claimed a close relationship with the children, but the court countered that the only proof of this was the few months the children lived with them (outside of a generally long-distance relationship).
● The grandparents argued that denying visitation would cut the children off from their mother’s side of the family, but the court countered that the harm caused by a lack of connection with one branch of the family was not sufficient for the state to intervene in a parental decision.
The father maintained that the grandparents’ disregard for him as a parent and their willingness to undermine his parental rights motivated his decision to deny visitation, and the court found that the grandparents’ legal action (absent evidence) supported the father’s analysis.
In other words, a parent can deny a grandparent visitation, and fighting such a decision is exceptionally difficult, but there are instances when the court does intervene in support of grandparent visitation.
Can I Get Visitation Rights to See My Grandchild?
In the State of Washington, you have the right – as a grandparent to seek visitation with your grandchildren if you have been denied access to them. In order to prevail, however, you will need to prove that you have cultivated a strong, nurturing relationship with the children and that, if this relationship is denied, they will suffer resulting harm. A new law regarding third-party visitation (including grandparent visitation) went into effect in Washington in 2018, and while it ensures that grandparents like you have the right to seek visitation, it in no way diminishes the parents’ rights. Further, this law affords only one opportunity to request visitation, and if it isn’t granted, it’s the end of the matter. Finally, as with every legal matter that involves children, any visitation that is granted must be in the best interest of the children. Any way you look at it, the bar is high.
Seek the Guidance of an Experienced Yakima Divorce Lawyer Today
If you are a grandparent who is seeking visitation with your grandchildren, the compassionate divorce attorneys at Dobbs & Young in Yakima, Washington, understand the gravity of the matter and are committed to skillfully advocating for your rights – in pursuit of visitation terms that honor the strength of your bond with your grandchildren. Your case is important, so please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact or call us at 509-577-9177 for more information today.